Eight Ukrainian children have successfully returned home from Russian-occupied parts of Kherson Oblast, according to oblast military administration head Oleksandr Prokudin. On August 3, Prokudin announced that the group consists of five girls and three boys, aged between six and 17.
The Kherson Oblast chief expressed gratitude towards the Ukrainian humanitarian NGO Save Ukraine for their role in facilitating the children's return.
"The children were met in their native land and all the horrors for them are now behind them," Prokudin stated in a Telegram post.
The official says 162 children from occupied parts of Kherson Oblast have been brought back to Ukrainian-controlled territories in 2024 alone.
Many Ukrainian children remain in Russian-occupied territories, facing the risk of being transferred to Russia.
Russia's abductions
As of February 2023, Ukraine confirmed the illegal deportation of 19,546 Ukrainian children by Russians. However, in reality, the number is likely much higher. Returning the children is extremely difficult, as the Russians often place them with foster families, changing their names and surnames.
On 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children’s Affairs Maria Lvova-Belova. They are suspected of illegally deporting Ukrainian children from occupied territories to Russia.
In July 2023, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine launched an investigation into the Belarusian Red Cross’s involvement in the deportation of Ukrainian children.
In December 2023, Ukraine hosted the inaugural meeting of the International Coalition of Countries for the Return of Ukrainian Children to address the forced deportation of Ukrainian kids by Russia.
Related:
- Int’l coalition formed in Ukraine to bring back Ukrainian kids forcibly deported by Russia
- 10 Ukrainian children rescued from Russian occupation
- Ukraine returns 11 children from Russia, occupied territories, amid Qatar mediation
- Ukraine returns 11 children from Russia, occupied territories, amid Qatar mediation
- Ukrainian NGO returns home four more children from Russian-occupied south
- Canada FM Joly visits Ukraine to get Russia to return Ukrainian children
- US Diplomat: “Sinister Russian NGOs” involved in abducting Ukrainian children
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